Monday, 12 November 2012

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the ongoing legal difficulties being experienced by the Indian rationalist Sanal Edamaruku, who is currently staying in Europe in order to avoid arrest at home, following legal complaints filed against him by Catholic groups after he exposed a supposed miracle involving a dripping crucifix at a church in Mumbai. We launched a petition in June calling on those groups to drop their complaints, and at the time of writing it has received more than 11,00 signatures.

We're pleased to announce that Sanal will be visiting London next week, and on Wednesday 21 November he will be speaking at a special lunchtime event at the Free Word Centre, organised by the Rationalist Association and Index on Censorship.

Sanal will talk about his distinguished career fighting superstition and India's powerful gurus, the current case brought against him by the Catholic Church and why he thinks it could prove a turning point in Indian law.

Joining Sanal will be a panel of experts, including High Court Judge Stephen Sedley, historioan Professor Richard Sorabji, journalist and novelist Salil Tripathi and free speech campaigners, to discuss the implications of the case for the future of blasphemy in India and beyond.

It's a free event (with the option to make a voluntary donation to his legal defence fund on the day), and will take place at the Free Word Centre, London, EC1R 3GA from 1.00pm to 2.30pm. Places are extremely limited, so please book your ticket now to avoid disappointment.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the ongoing legal difficulties being experienced by the Indian rationalist Sanal Edamaruku, who is currently staying in Europe in order to avoid arrest at home, following legal complaints filed against him by Catholic groups after he exposed a supposed miracle involving a dripping crucifix at a church in Mumbai. We launched a petition in June calling on those groups to drop their complaints, and at the time of writing it has received more than 11,00 signatures.

We're pleased to announce that Sanal will be visiting London next week, and on Wednesday 21 November he will be speaking at a special lunchtime event at the Free Word Centre, organised by the Rationalist Association and Index on Censorship.

Sanal will talk about his distinguished career fighting superstition and India's powerful gurus, the current case brought against him by the Catholic Church and why he thinks it could prove a turning point in Indian law.

Joining Sanal will be a panel of experts, including High Court Judge Stephen Sedley, historioan Professor Richard Sorabji, journalist and novelist Salil Tripathi and free speech campaigners, to discuss the implications of the case for the future of blasphemy in India and beyond.

It's a free event (with the option to make a voluntary donation to his legal defence fund on the day), and will take place at the Free Word Centre, London, EC1R 3GA from 1.00pm to 2.30pm. Places are extremely limited, so please book your ticket now to avoid disappointment.